Hidden in Code
by Everything.Becomes.Chaos
Summary: Jim Gordon's wife took his family away from Gotham in the beginning of TDKR, but what if their oldest daughter decided to stay? Her life begins to turn to shambles once Bane learns he needs her specific skills to bring Gotham to ashes. Can she help stop this terrorist with the help of her father and John Blake?
1. Cleveland

**A/N: So I've seen TDKR a total of 3 times already, and this story randomly popped into my mind after the last time, so I figured I'd see where it took me! I'm going to be updating this story AND "The Joker's Mind" every week like usual, so if you read my other story, don't fret :) Anywho, I've taken a little liberty with Barbara Gordon's age, but that's about it. Everything else about her is pretty much based on what I know about her from Arkham Asylum/City, "The Killing Joke", and just background knowledge from the animated series. So enjoy! (Also this goes without saying that there WILL BE SPOILERS for TDKR!)**

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"Mom, you can't do this to him! He'll be all alone. And after everything he's done for this family-"

"Don't you dare talk to me like that! You don't know what he's put this family through!"

"I was there that night! In case you forgot! I was there when Harvey Dent tried to kill Jimmy. It's not something I could forget, even if I wanted to."

"I'm not leaving for Cleveland without you."

"Well you're going to have to. I have a job here. A life. And I'm not leaving Dad alone. I'm twenty-one now, I can make my own choices."

...

"Barbara-"

"Dad, since when have you called me that?"

"Since now. I just talked to your Mom-"

"No! I'm not leaving. And nothing you say can convince me otherwise."

...

The angry red head stormed out of her family's quaint house and into the bitter street. It was the end of August, and the leaves were just starting to change colors. She was no longer even remotely nervous about walking the streets of Gotham alone since her father, Commissioner Gordon had locked away most of the criminals in Blackgate Prison. Thanks to the Harvey Dent Act, Gotham was thriving. But unlike all of the citizens in this flourishing city, Barbara Elise Gordon knew that this Act was founded on a terrible lie.

"Eli," someone shouted behind her, breaking her train of thought and making her stop in her tracks. She immediately recognized the voice to be her younger brother.

"Jimmy, what are you doing out here? You need to help Mom pack." Jimmy's unruly blonde hair fell into his eyes as he ran over to his older sister and wrapped his arms around her waist. Both siblings were tall for their ages, but Eli still had a few feet on her brother.

"Why aren't you coming with us?" He looked like he was going to burst into tears any second. Eli always knew that her brother was fragile, especially after that night eight years ago. The night that changed her life forever.

"Jimmy, I already told you. I have a job here, I just graduated college. I belong here, in Gotham, with Dad." Her voice was barely a whisper as she embraced her brother. She knew that she had to be strong for him, like she had been for the past few years. "Come on, let's get you back inside. You don't even have a coat on."

"I don't want to go without you Eli," he whimpered into her trench coat.

"I know you don't. But you have to. Cleveland isn't that far away, and we'll talk on the phone every week. You can't get rid of me that easily buddy!" She laughed through the pain and ruffled his shaggy blonde hair.

"You promise?"

"I promise."

...

A few days later, Eli still couldn't get used to the silence in her family's house. Nobody was ever home; her mom and brother had left and her dad was always working. She was just thankful that she had her job and volunteer work to keep her from going crazy. Today was her first day off in weeks, and she was already tired of the silence.

As if by coincidence, her cell phone's shrill ringtone snapped her out of her boredom.

"Dad?" she answered, after seeing the caller ID.

"Hey Eli, are you busy?" She could tell that her father was having a hard day. His voice seemed both stressed and exhausted. She knew that being Police Commissioner and having a huge secret was a burden that was taking its toll on his health.

"I'm never too busy for you, Dad. What do you need?"

"We're having some trouble with our computers down at the station, and IT is a little busy. Would you mind coming over and looking at them?"

"I don't know where I got all my computer skills from Dad, because clearly you're helpless," Eli laughed into the phone at her Dad's request. This always seemed to be happening. "I don't know what you would do without me!"

"I don't know what I would do either."

...

The sight of the newly rebuilt MCU was always awe-inspiring. After the Joker blew half of it up eight years ago, her dad decided to make it more impressive, meaning for it to be a symbol of hope for the citizens of Gotham. Eli made the trip to the MCU often to see her father, especially when he had technological issues. She was his go-to person for help. Always was, and always will be.

"Hey Eli, how's it going?" Lisa, one of the receptionists, said enthusiastically as she walked through the main hall. When she was little, Eli took every chance she could get to spend time with her father at the police station. Now most of the older employees considered her to be like family.

"I'm good Lisa, how's the family? I haven't seen them in ages!" The receptionist's eyes lit up as she brought out a new photo to show her.

"They're beautiful Lisa, you're a lucky woman. Speaking of family, is my dad in his office?" She nodded quickly as Eli turned and said goodbye.

Her dad's office was a mess like usual, but that was a lot less concerning than the stressed expression that seemed plastered on her father's face as he scoured over a stack of papers in his hand.

"Hey Dad, I brought you coffee. I figured you would need it," she exclaimed as she walked into his office without knocking.

Her dad let out a soft chuckle as she handed him the piping hot cup of black coffee. "You know me so well."

"So what's going on. You look like death," she said concerned. Growing up with a police officer as a father made her used to these extreme moods, but she never liked them. Her dad endured too much stress for her liking.

"The computer system has been acting up again. The usual," he sighed.

"Dad. A simple computer malfunction wouldn't get you this worked up. What's going on?"

"The usual stuff, Harvey Dent Day, you know." Eli did know. Every year he got more and more anxious around Harvey Dent Day, and every year it takes a toll on his health. She couldn't believe it snuck up on them so quickly this year.

"Forget I mentioned it, can you let me into the computer lab so I can run some diagnostic tests?" He nodded as he took a long swig of the coffee. He reached into his desk and fished out an electric pass key and led her to the very familiar room across the hall.

"So how's your new job? Working for the world's top software design company must be more exciting than helping your old man. Is everyone treating you well?" One of Gordon's biggest concerns was that people wouldn't take his daughter seriously because of her age. But she had one of the brightest minds of her generation, so he knew she would find her place in the world.

"Oh you know, sitting in meetings and writing code is extremely glamorous, but I manage somehow," she said sarcastically. She actually loved her job, and most of her coworkers respected her intellect, so there hadn't been any problems yet.

"If you ever have any trouble with people, you just send them to me," he said smiling at his only daughter.

Eli laughed as she pulled up a chair and started to type into one of the main monitors in the room. "Thanks for the offer Dad, but I think I can take care of myself."

"I know, I know. I did raise you after all." When Gordon said that he raised Eli to take care of herself, he meant it. At an early age, he tried to instill the same unrelenting sense of right and wrong that he lived by. He even urged her to take self defense and martial arts classes, which she excelled in. When raising a daughter like Eli, Gordon learned to never be surprised. She was extremely smart and incredibly talented in everything she put her mind to.

"You sure did."

Once Eli seemed to settle in, Gordon felt useless. He never really understood any of the technological techniques that Eli seemed to have up her sleeve, and he learned early on not to question her. "Hey, let me bring you some coffee, it's only fair. You'll have to settle for whatever we have in the break room though."

"That'd be great Dad. I'll just take it black."

Gordon laughed as he stood up slowly to exit the room. "That's my girl," he said as he walked out, leaving her to do her work.

Nobody else was in the room with Eli once her father left, and that's how she liked it. She always worked best in the quiet. She quickly searched through her purse and found the software she had designed herself, and plugged it into the hard drive. The program immediately started to do its job and search for viruses that could have infected the system. As it loaded, she checked her phone to see if anyone had tried to reach her when she was busy, but she didn't have any messages.

The door swung open behind her, and Eli assumed it was just her dad coming back with the coffee so she didn't turn around.

"Excuse me, you're not supposed to be in here." Eli spun around in her chair to see who it was, because it was definitely not her dad.

"You're Robin Blake," she said like it was a matter-of-fact.

Confusion crossed the young police officer's face before he could say anything else. "I go by John now. How do you know that? I haven't used that name in years."

"We met a few years ago. Seven years actually." John's confused expression was unrelenting, still not recognizing the woman in front of him. "Sorry, I'm being rude aren't I? I do that a lot. My name's Barbara, but you can call me Eli. Most people do."

He shook her hand politely, "It's nice to meet you and all, but that doesn't explain why you're here and how you know me."

Eli kicked herself internally for making this so awkward. She always forgot that people didn't really think like her.

"Let me start over. Hi, my name's Eli Gordon. I'm just helping my Dad out with some computer problems he's having. My Dad took me to a fundraiser at an all Boys Orphanage seven years ago, and I must have met you there. I have an eidetic memory, so I don't really forget people I meet. It makes situations like these . . . generally awkward. Sorry for confusing you . . . And now I'm rambling aren't I?" She let out a nervous laugh, hoping that she didn't scare the young police officer away. _Damn it Eli, get ahold of yourself_.

"Well that's a first . . . Don't worry about it, sorry I didn't recognize you as my boss's daughter. How's the system running?" He asked gesturing toward the computer in front of them. Lines of code were running down the screen as her software was uploading onto the hard drive.

"I don't know, I just started looking into it. I should know in an hour or so." John nodded his head, but she could tell he wasn't much of a computer person either. "So, you must be new here, did you just graduate?"

He laughed and nodded, "How can you tell?"

"I guess I'm just good at reading people," both smiled at each other. Eli could tell that he really wanted to do well in his job, and that he Dad was lucky to have him on his team.

A soft _ding_ broke their eye contact as Eli spun her chair around to look at the computer once again.

"That's weird . . ." she thought out loud. John walked over to get a closer look and put his hand on her chair to lean over. Though, nothing on the screen seemed to make any sense to him.

"What's weird?" Her father's voice came from behind John. Both young adults spun around to face the him.

"Sir," Blake nodded toward his boss in respect, straightened his shoulders, and walked to leave the room. "It was good to meet you Eli . . . again, I guess."

Eli gave him a small wave before turning back toward the computer screen. "I got into the system."

"Well that's not weird. But it has to be a record time! Nice job."

"No, it's not good. Someone was in here before me. I think you've been hacked. And they're good." Eli immediately started to type furiously, bringing up different windows, searching for how the hacker got into their system. Eli had written their firewall herself, and it was almost impenetrable.

"Not as good as you though, right?" Gordon's face flashed with concern. If someone had hacked into their system, they would have a lot of information at their fingertips.

"Nobody's as good as me," she said truthfully. "I think I'll be able to kick them out and see what they tried to access, but it's going to take a while." Gordon knew better than to bother her when she was working, so he set her coffee down next to her and went back to his office. She always liked to work better on her own. Even as a child, she was extremely independent. She would sit in the library for hours at a time, just learning anything she could. He and his wife realized that she was more advanced than most children her age when she was just a toddler and was already reading. They brought her to a child psychologist and learned that she would probably grow up with a genius-level IQ. It came as a shock to them both, but they were proud of her no matter what. Gordon was especially proud of the woman she had grown up to be. Eli graduated high school early and was on the fast track at Gotham University. Both times she graduated the top of her class, thus earning her a high ranking job at Daggett Industries as a Software Development Manager. She always tried to explain what her job entailed, but it always went over his head. All he knew was that he couldn't be more proud.

...

"Dad, you need to follow me," Eli said, barging into her father's office. She looked considerably more tired after only an hour of programming.

"What did you find?" he asked once they were alone in the room with the computers once again.

"This guy was good, but sloppy. Whoever it was successfully accessed everything from infrastructure blueprints, to construction manifestoes, to white collar criminal records. But he knew what he was searching for, and it looks like he got it. I fixed everything up and updated the firewall. Nobody else will be getting into your records anytime soon, but there's nothing I can do about what's already been taken."

"Can you trace whoever it was?"

"I tried, but the IP address was encrypted. It turned out to be a public domain: a dead end."

Gordon put his hand on his daughter's shoulder gratefully. "Thanks Eli, good work. You should go home though, you look tired."

"I will, but you've got to promise that you'll take care of yourself. You're wearing yourself too thin. And I just want to help, so keep me in the loop." Eli embraced her father to try to give him some sort of comfort, knowing that Harvey Dent Day was looming over his conscience.

...

Meanwhile:

"Someone's got to tell him."

"He's not going to be happy."

"When is he ever happy?"

Two men were leaning over a heavy duty looking military grade computer in an alcove surrounded by crumbling walls in the sewer. Print outs of infrastructure blueprints scattered the work space along with the names of construction workers.

"Is something wrong?" An inhumanly deep voice with an unplaceable accent came from behind them. As soon as the voice echoed through the alcove, the two men's whole bodies tensed with physical fear.

Both stood up and faced their leader with military-like respect. Bane's terrifying presence seemed to fill the whole room. His enormous hands held onto the collar of his thick leather vest as he stood there, like an imposing statue.

Both men looked at each other before one answered his question. Both were too scared of what he would do if neither of them answered. "Our connection with the Gotham Police force was just . . . cut off."

"Did we get what we needed?" Bane's eyes seemed to widen as he got more angry. He didn't particularly like it when his plans didn't execute perfectly.

The second man spoke up this time. "Most of it. We, uh, didn't get Bruce Wayne's prints."

"Get Daggett on the phone. Tell him everything." The man scrambled to do exactly what he was told, too loyal not to do as he was told and too scared to disappoint him. Bane stood completely still as he waited for a response. The man quickly told Daggett what had happened, and grunted a few times in affirmation.

"He says he has the prints handled. And that he works with another woman who can handle everything else; someone who can hack into the Stock Exchange."

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**A/N: So what did you guys think? Did I butcher anything?**


	2. Righteous

**A/N: Oh my gosh guys, I never thought people would actually read this story! THANK you for all of the reviews and subscribers! I feel so bad that I've taken so long to update, so here ya go!  
**

**Shoutouts: Juliet Kavanagh, I Just Need You, azuresilver, SARAHBABE215, Cheekymonkey97, chillinwithRAYintheuk, wisegirl2772, and aaroniteXkryptonite! Thank you so much for your reviews! Also the anonymous ones!  
****Special shoutout:****Amanda: THANK you so much for pointing that out! Haha I totally re-read it and realized that you were right! I kept your comment in mind when I wrote this chapter, so hopefully the dialogue will seem more natural! Also, some of the dialogue with her Dad should seem a little weird because I'm trying to make their relationship seem sort of strained.  
Also, sorry everyone for not really explaining why I called her "Eli"- I gave you guys a little hint, but it wasn't really obvious. Hopefully this chapter will clear up all confusion!  
Thanks for reading -H**

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Eli quickly made her way out of the MCU, thinking about everything the hackers had tried to access. Everything seemed random and unrelated, but she refused to believe that a hacker this skilled didn't know what they were looking for. This is why, unknown to her father, she left her program running in the computer lab. It would wirelessly connect her with their network, allowing her to search for more patterns. She knew that there had to be something she missed.

"Hey, Eli! Wait up!" Blake's voice rang out from behind her.

"Oh sorry, didn't see you there! Need something?" The young police officer came running up to Eli was she waited on the steps for him.

"You, uh, just forgot your phone in the station. It's been ringing for the past minute."

"Oh god, _thank_ you! This phone is my life. Seriously. So technically, I think you just saved my life." Eli held onto the phone tightly, thinking of how inconvenient it would have been if she had forgotten it.

John laughed as he watched the red head treasure the small phone in her hands. "Don't worry about it. You know it is _just_ a phone."

"Ha! That's an understatement. This phone contains _all_ of my research for my job. And now apparently it has a new voicemail from my boss." She looked down, realizing that it was Daggett who had called her when she was at the station. "Ugh, looks like I don't even get a day off anymore."

"How 'bout I give you a ride? It's getting late and I just got done with my shift."

"Oh no, Daggett Industries is only a few blocks away. But, thanks for the offer anyways." John smiled warmly and nodded.

"Anytime. See ya' around Eli."

...

Eli quickly swiped her pass key to get into her laboratory. She had no idea why Daggett would be calling her in so late in the day, but it probably had to do with her face recognizing software that was just going into the prototype phase.

"Ah Miss. Gordon. Just the person I was looking for." Her boss walked in and the atmosphere of the room changed immediately. He had an air of arrogance and superiority about him that seemed to overwhelm her every time they met.

"You called me in. Did something go wrong with the prototype feedback?" Whenever Eli talked to her boss, she felt almost drained. He acted as if he owned everyone who worked for him, and that set Eli on edge.

"Oh no, no, no. We both know your programs are flawless. Which is why I've decided to let you in on a very important assignment. This goes without saying: if you choose to finish this project, which I _highly_ urge you to do, you will be legally bound to work in secret." Eli nodded as he handed her a manilla folder filled with censored plans and schematics that were barely comprehendible because of all of the blacked-out areas. Everything he said sounded like a veiled threat. Eli's heart started to race as she forced herself to keep eye contact with him. She didn't want to seem nervous or apprehensive.

"This is barely anything to go on. What _exactly_ would I be doing?"

"Miss. Gordon, I'm going to be completely honest with you. Either you do this job, or you can kiss all accreditation for your work here goodbye. Your work will be enormously significant of the future of Gotham. Everything I'm allowed to tell you is in that file. Read it. Memorize it. Do it." Eli's eyes widened as her boss threatened her. This job meant everything to her, and she had worked her whole life to get it. But she didn't know if she could sacrifice her morals for Daggett.

As her boss stormed out of her office, Eli took the opportunity to analyze the file he had just forced into her hands. As she read it more in-depth, her stomach sunk even further. From the small amount of actual usable information she was give, she could tell that this project was somewhat, if not completely, illegal. He wanted her to design a program to track and control large amounts of stock acquisitions. Though it seemed relatively harmless, she knew that if this fell into the wrong hands, someone would be able to bankrupt the city's leading industrial powers. They would need other supplies as well, since this program couldn't run on its own. At this point, Eli felt like she was just trying to make herself feel better though. There were absolutely no redeeming qualities in this program, and she knew it.

...

After Daggett's not-so-veiled threat, Eli couldn't shake the constant feeling of paranoia that poisoned her senses. She shoved the folder into her bag and threw it angrily over her shoulder as she stormed out of the building. People waved goodbye to her as she left, but she kept her eyes straight and made a bee line home. She couldn't think of anything else other than what Daggett had said.

Once in the safety of her own home, she paced around the living room for what felt like hours. She replayed what had just happened over and over again in her mind, but nothing seemed to make her feel better. She tried to justify the project to herself, but a nagging feeling in her gut always told her that no matter how she thought of it, it would be wrong.

She _had_ to tell someone about this, but she knew that she couldn't confide in her father. He would take it upon himself to walk over to Daggett Industries and arrest her boss in an instant. John Blake had been decent to her, but they had only met once. She couldn't just dump this on him. She couldn't call her mom, she would just demand that she come down to live in Cleveland. _And_ none of the people she went to college with lived in Gotham anymore; she had never felt so alone in her life. Which was weird because she typically enjoyed being alone.

Eli could hear her father unlock the front door and put his badge on the front table, like he did every night. She immediately stopped pacing and unconsciously hid the folder under the couch.

"Hey Dad," she said automatically as he walked into the kitchen. Since her Mom took her brother to live in Cleveland, their relationship seemed strained so she made more effort to talk to him.

"Hey kid, what's wrong? You seem jumpy. At least more than usual . . ." he said quietly.

Suddenly, and idea popped into her head. "I just was wondering . . . Have you seen Batman since . . . that day?" she asked as he rummaged through the refrigerator for leftovers. Eli sat down at the small table in the kitchen and rested her head in her hands in exhaustion.

Her father paused as he thought about her question and shut the refrigerator door without grabbing anything. His eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "No . . . why?"

"No reason, just curious. I figured if anyone'd seen him it'd be you." Part of Eli had hoped that Batman was still out there. It gave her hope that someone was stopping injustice in Gotham. Another part of her wanted to find him and tell _him_ about Daggett. But that was just an obscure fantasy that she knew would never happen. Her problems were probably much less serious than the other people of Gotham, even with the crack down on organized crime.

"You were there the last time I saw him," he said as he fiddled with his hands. Eli knew that he was still haunted by the events of that night.

"You did the right thing. Look at Gotham now, I haven't had to fend off muggers in _ages_," she said sarcastically. This merited a small smile from her Dad, but she could tell he was still conflicted.

"_That's_ not something I want to think about," he said as he ran his hand through his greying hair. The image of people attacking his only daughter made him cringe.

Eli rolled her eyes, "You _did_ make me take self defense classes since I could walk, so I don't see what the problem is."

"That was preemptive and you know it," he said smiling.

Eli stood up and rested her hand on her Dad's shoulder, "Just keep telling yourself that."

"Where's the fire? Got somewhere to be?"

"Yeah Daggett's got me working on something important. 'Night old man," she quickly kissed him on the cheek and rushed off to the living room. She grabbed her bag with the folder and hurried to her room and locked the door.

Eli couldn't bring herself to open that folder. Instead, she stared at it for a few seconds before throwing it on the ground and sitting in front of her own computer. She had work to do.

...

Eli sat in front of her computer for hours, sifting through the information she had acquired at the police station earlier that day. She didn't get up until the sun started to break through her cracked blinds. Even if she was tired, which she wasn't, Eli wouldn't be able to go to sleep. Whenever her mind wandered away from what was on her computer screen, she could hear Daggett's voice clearly in her head, threatening her over and over again. But she had hope once she cracked her case wide open. It turns out she had missed a lot back at the station.

_Gotcha' asshole_, she growled to herself as she looked at the screen in front of her. She had done the almost impossible task of tying Daggett to the hacker from the police station. Someone under his control had stolen that information, and she was going to use it to save her job. Eli was conflicted with the idea of blackmail, but she had spent the last few hours convincing herself that it wasn't blackmail if she was trying to do the right thing. _If this works, everything will be set right. _At least that's what she told herself as she shut down the computer and got ready for work.

...

After the impossibly cold shower and three shots of expresso, Eli finally felt awake enough to leave for work. If she was going to stand up to Daggett herself, she needed to be completely vigilant. Before she left, she made sure that she copied the important pages of the file she was given, and hid them in her room.

Throughout her life, Eli had lived up to the stereotype of red-heads. She was extremely hot-headed and quick to act. She always thought they were both her strongest and weakest attributes, and they often got her into trouble. Now she wasn't quite sure where it would land her. She wasn't going to let Daggett walk all over her, but she feared that she may be taking it too far. She was so angry that she didn't think she was going to be able to forget about it without fighting back either.

She quickly scanned her security clearance card to get into her lab and set her things down. Her heart was beating loudly in her chest as she pulled the folder out and gingerly put it in the center of her work table. She couldn't look at it without feeling disgusted, and she had come to realize that this job was not worth sacrificing her morals.

To distract herself from the inevitable confrontation between her and Daggett, she analyzed the progress of her other- _legal_- projects. They were all looking and preforming well.

After about an hour, the door to her lab opened. She didn't have to turn around to know it was her boss. She could smell his disgusting, expensive cologne from a mile away. All of the anger from the past day rose and made her blood boil with every step he took to get closer to her.

Eli took a deep breath and turned around quickly. She knew that this had to be like taking off a bandaid; it was better to get it over with quickly. There was no need to prolong the anxiety that was now spreading through her body.

"Miss. Gordon, how has our _project_ been progressing? I _know_ I won't be disappointed." Daggett's slicked back hair and professionally pressed suit reminded her of someone who was trying too hard to seem more powerful than he actually was. As he spoke, he raised his voice as if he was trying to seem more domineering.

Eli took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "I'm going to tell you what _I know, _Mr. Daggett," her voice dripped with anger and annoyance. "For one, I know that I'm _not_ going to be writing this program for you," she made sure her voice stayed strong as she shoved the folder back at her boss. Any sign of weakness would undermine her whole purpose.

"_Excuse me?_ Do you want to keep your-" Eli held up her hand to interrupt him. _It's now or never,_ she thought to herself. His eyes bulged with disbelief. He wasn't particularly used to being interrupted.

"I wasn't done, _Mr. Daggett._ What I also know is that your company can be tied to a cyber attack on the Gotham City Police Station earlier this week. Now . . . I don't like being threatened, but I will respond to violence with violence . . . Am I making myself clear?" Somehow during their conversation, it seemed Eli had taken a few threatening steps toward her boss to emphasize her point. She could tell that he was fuming behind his seemingly unaffected facade; his eyes were boiling with rage. "I _will __**not**_ sacrifice the integrity of my work for this job," she continued before he could say anything else.

Daggett crossed his arms and clenched his fists until his knuckles were almost completely white. "You'll regret this. I assure you of that." A scowl crossed his face as he pivoted on the heels of his expensive shoes and stormed out of the laboratory.

Once he was out of the room, she let out a sigh. She hadn't realized that she had been holding her breath. As soon as he was out of sight, a proud smile flashed across her lips. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she ran her hand through her hair in triumph. She congratulated herself, but something about his departing statement made her re-think her win. _What did he mean when he said I'd regret it? _

...

_Damn her!_ Daggett yelled as he slammed the door to his office on the top floor of his building. He threw the folder on his desk forcefully, scattering other papers across the floor. He started to pace the length of his executive office, trying to think about what to do next. _Bane's going to be furious_.

The only thing to break his concentration was the shrill sound of his cell phone. He looked at the caller ID and his heart sank. It was one of Bane's men. _Great._

Before he could say anything, the man on the other side of the phone addressed him. "When will the program be done? He's losing his patience." Daggett knew immediately that he was talking about Bane.

He paused before answering, " . . . There's been a _minor_ setback."

"How minor are we talking?" The man's voice seemed to grow more frantic as if he didn't want to disappoint Bane.

"She won't do it," he breathed.

"But you said-" Before the man on the other side of the phone could continue in his accusation, Daggett interrupted him.

"I know what I said," he hissed bitterly. "She's more _righteous_ than I thought," he spat with distain for the stubborn red head.

"Leave it to us then." Daggett smiled, imagining the untold horrors that Bane would do to her. The idea of revenge intrigued him. The only thing he hated more than righteous people was getting outsmarted. And she had combined them both.

...

The high from standing up for herself quickly wore off throughout the work day. Daggett's promise for revenge repeated over and over in her head. It got to the point that she couldn't even focus on her work. The minutes until it was reasonable to go home dragged by torturously. What made it even worse was that today was Harvey Dent Day and Eli had forgotten to call her Dad to wish him good luck with his speech. She would have gone to the fundraiser at Wayne Manor in person, but she learned long ago that it was too hard to watch people praise the person who tried to murder her own brother; let alone her own father. This was the first year that she decided to skip it, and she still managed to feel guilty.

Finally, five o' clock rolled around and Eli made her last rounds checking her work. Everything seemed to be running smoothly so she practically ran out of the building. If it weren't for the projects she was already working on, she would have quit her job. If her boss was willing to threaten her to do illegal work, then Daggett Industries would have to find another mindless drone to do their dirty work. Once her programs were functional, she planned on resigning. With her skills there were always more options.

Eli checked her watch one more time and realized that her Dad might still be at the station. If she hurried, she might be able to catch him before he left to wish him good luck. She quickly fished out her phone from her overflowing bag and dialed his extension.

Someone answered promptly on the third ring, "Commissioner Gordon's office, this is John Blake."

Eli's eye brows scrunched in confusion before she answered. "Oh, uh hey John is my Dad there?" She hadn't expected anyone else to answer the phone. Usually her Dad answered or it went straight to voicemail.

"Nah' he just left for the fundraiser. Figured you'd be going too," he said with his vague Boston accent.

"Ugh no," she groaned. "That's not really my thing."

"Yeah me neither . . . Anyway, is there something I can do for you?" Eli thought for a second before answering.

"No, I just wanted to make sure my Dad didn't forget his speech. Again." She laughed as she remembered the fundraiser a few years ago when he forgot his notecards and had to wing it. Blake seemed to find that funny and let out a couple sincere snickers.

"I don't see them, so I think he's in the clear" Eli could hear him smile from behind the phone.

"Okay 'phew," she said in exaggerated relief. "He would be so dead if he did forgot them . . . Speaking of," she laughed nervously, "if you guys find me dead tomorrow, it was my boss. Just saying," Her voice dripped with sarcasm, but secretly she was being partially serious.

"Thanks for the warning. Bad day?" Blake didn't know whether or not to take her seriously. He figured she was just joking around so he laughed it off.

"The worst. Luckily I get to leave now."

"Well since I have to be concerned that your boss is going to murder you in cold blood, let me escort you home. I'm in the neighborhood," he voice rung with with sarcasm and excitement.

"Will you take no for an answer?"

"Hell no."

...

When John said he was in the neighborhood, he wasn't kidding. Eli barely had to wait a minute before she saw his police cruiser pull up. He spotted her bright hair immediately and leaned over the seat to open the door for her.

Riding in the police car reminded her of her childhood when her Dad used to take her on rides around the city. The thought immediately put her in a good mood.

John immediately greeted her as he took off in the busy city street. "So should I be on the look out for tails?"

She laughed at the thought of her boss sending people to follow her. "Nah I think we're good. But I do think this means you saved my life again! That's got to be a record."

"Jeez, how many guys have saved your life?" he chuckled as he tore his eyes from the road in front of him to steal a glance at her.

"Let me think . . ." she said, looking up at the ceiling as if she was counting. "Nope, just you." She smirked mischievously at John as he turned to face the city again. She studied his face as his lips turned up into a smug smile.

"So why's your boss want to kill you?" He said, playing along with their little joke. Only Eli knew that it was partially serious.

"Oh I didn't do what he wanted me to. He's used to getting his way I guess," she added.

Suddenly the mood of the car seemed to become more tense. John's knuckles tightened on the wheel ever so slightly. His head tilted to the side in confusion and his eyes narrowed.

"He didn't try to _do something_ did he?" He looked at her with concern in his eyes.

Eli's eyes widened as she realized how ambiguous her story was. "Oh, god no! No, no, nothing like that." Relief flooded John's face as the idea of her boss trying to take advantage of her was squashed. His hands loosened from the wheel and the muscles in his face relaxed.

Wanting to change the subject, Eli quickly asked him something different. "So . . ." she began awkwardly. "What's with the name change? I like your real name!"

"John is my real name. It's just not my first one," he said explaining. "Plus I thought 'Robin' was kinda' girly. You should understand! Why don't you go by 'Barbara'?"

"Ugh that's my mom's name. _And_ it's a old woman's name. I don't know what my parents were thinking when they named me 'Barbara Elise'. It's like they _wanted _another reason for kids to make fun of in school. 'Eli' was the only thing that seemed to fit."

"What do you mean _another_ reason?" John asked, seeming actually confused to why she would have gotten made fun of growing up.

"A lot of reasons. I was a cop's daughter with a genius IQ. My childhood wasn't exactly _easy_."

"I know how you feel . . ." he said with a lowered voice.

"Oh god I'm so sorry John, I was being inconsiderate. Again." Eli knew that he was an orphan, and she was just complaining about her childhood. She didn't even think about how much better her childhood probably was compared to his.

"Don't apologize," he said knowingly. "You have nothing to be sorry about. I'd say we both turned out pretty well," he said smiling, but she could see the pain behind his eyes. Eli couldn't imagine what losing a parent would feel like.

"At least you did! I just seem to cause trouble wherever I am."

"Eh, that just makes everything more exciting," he said, laughing. His laughter seemed to put Eli at ease. Even his voice seemed to comfort her after such a stressful day at work.

"Thanks John," she said as she smiled out the window. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to look at him directly. Something about his eyes seemed to make her heart beat faster. "Oh, here's my house!" She said, pointing to the small colonial residence on the right.

"Here, before you go, why don't I give you my number. You know . . . just in case your boss decides to make a house call." He said laughing off his embarrassment. He was worried that he was going to scare her off, but the grinning expression on her face put him at ease.

"My hero," she said sarcastically as she traded phones with him. She rolled her eyes and smiled genuinely.

Once they exchanged numbers, Eli gathered her things and stepped out of the cruiser. John rolled down the window and leaned out after her and called out, "See ya' later Barbara!"

She turned around and gave him a curt look to show her annoyance with that name.

"Bye _Robin_," she hissed after him.

John shook his head and smiled as he watched her unlock her front door and step into her living room. _Touche_, he whispered to himself in amusement as he drove off.

**A/N: So what did you guys think? Sorry not a lot happened in this chapter. I just needed to prepare everything for what happens next! Don't worry, the action will pick up next chapter ;) I've got a lot planned for John and Eli!**


	3. Libraries and Serial Killers

**A/N: I'm SO SO SO SORRY that this has taken me forever to get up. For some reason this chapter was super hard for me to write. I have no idea why. Anyways, I hope to be updating it soon later this week to make up for it! All of your comments have literally made my life. I can't believe so many of you have been reading this story! If it weren't for you guys and your reviews, this chapter would have taken a lot longer. Love you all!  
****-H**

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The next morning, Eli knew that she couldn't go to work and face Daggett again. Especially since her other projects didn't need her attention for the time being, so she wouldn't have anything to distract her. Instead, she decided to make her weekly trip to the library and volunteer. When she was little, she always spent most of her free time there, and she found the familiar smell of old books comforting. Plus she liked patterns and codes, so shelving the books would be somewhat therapeutic.

As she ran through her morning routine, she noticed that her Dad was quieter than usual. He was sitting in the kitchen staring at his boring breakfast and guzzling coffee. She didn't want to pry, so she didn't ask what was wrong. She had an idea though: _Harvey Dent_.

"Hey Dad, I'm volunteering again today so I'll be home early. Want me to save you some leftovers?" Since it had just been the two of them at home, Eli had adopted her Mom's role as the woman of the house. She always seemed to have to make sure her Dad was eating right, or else she suspected he would just survive off of frozen pizza and Chinese takeout. She cringed at that thought.

Her Dad's voice seemed strained once he answered, "No I'll be late again. The Congressman never got home from the fundraiser last night."

"Great . . ." she mumbled somewhat sarcastically. Eli hated how her Dad was so overworked and under-appreciated. Nobody deserved to be treated like that.

...

Eli liked the precise nature of the library shelving system; everything was organized and each book had its own space. Unlike her life which was often chaotic, she found solace knowing that something in her life was regulated and structured.

Surprisingly, the day went by pretty quickly. The monotony of her work helped her think about her life and sort through her problems. She realized that Daggett Industries was not worth the excess stress. After her current projects were up and running, she was definitely going to quit; there were no more doubts in her mind. Though, it had taken almost the whole day for her to come to that conclusion

"Hey Eli, there's a call for you at the front desk," a soft woman's voice came from behind Eli, successfully breaking her from her thoughts. Eli turned around and recognized her to be one of the other volunteers.

"Who is it?" She asked, knowing that not a lot of people knew she volunteered at the library. To come to think about it, only her Dad knew that. And he would just text her if he needed something. _Weird_.

"I don't know, but he says it's important," she said as she disappeared shyly back from behind the bookshelf.

...

"What?!" she almost cried into the phone. The pain in her voice was evident as the news sunk in.

"I'm so sorry, Eli, it's going to be okay. I found your Dad just in time. We're at the hospital now, he was only shot in the leg, and it's looking good. Just come in and the Doctors can explain it all to you better than I can," Blake's voice comforted her but she still felt like the walls were crumbling down around her. Her Dad was basically all she had left in Gotham, and she couldn't believe she was so close to losing him tonight. She knew all the statistics about surviving a gunshot wound, but that didn't give her any consolation.

"I'll be there in ten minutes," she declared with feigned strength. Growing up, she knew that her Dad's job was dangerous. She used to stay up on the nights that he worked late worrying that he had gotten shot. Over the years, she managed to compartmentalize her fears, but they were still there. Now they were coming to life.

...

Eli practically broke all the rules of the road to get to the hospital as quickly as possible without crashing her car or running down any pedestrians. All she could see was her father's broken body on the ground with blood seeping out of his leg. Blake hadn't given her any information about the shooting, so she had pictured the worst case scenario. Tears filled her eyes, but she angrily wiped them away before they could fall down her cheek. _He's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay,_ she repeated in her head. She quickly started to count to 999 by threes in her head; it was an old trick her psychologist taught her to prevent having panic attacks. Having an eidetic memory, though it seemed great on paper, was actually a nightmare. Not being able to forget anything was painful at best, and she was willing to try anything to forget sometimes. Counting in her head was distracting, and was less self destructive than other things she had tried.

Eli didn't care that she parked in a handicapped space; all she cared about was seeing that her Dad was okay. She slammed her door without locking it and sprinted into the all-too-familiar hospital.

She rushed toward the front desk to figure out what room her Dad was being treated in, but she ran into John Blake before she would reach the counter. He saw her pained expression and immediately began to lead her to the room without saying anything. She was thankful that he didn't say anything, because she suspected that if she tried to respond to anything, she would burst into tears.

With every step toward the room, Eli felt like she couldn't breathe. The white hospital walls were oppressive and ominous. Her breaths started to grow fewer and deeper. John noticed how much trouble she was having as he met her widened eyes, and tried to give her a reassuring nod. John hated seeing her that vulnerable and scared, so he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as if to comfort her. She shivered against him as they got into the elevator. The silence wasn't at all awkward; instead, Eli found it to be reassuring.

John immediately reacted to her shivers and slid off his GCPD coat and slipped it around her pale shoulders.

"What are you doing?" she said, her voice sounding exhausted. Though she appreciated the gesture, she wasn't really used to being taken care of. Eli valued her independence and personal strength too much to rely on others to get what she needed.

"Letting you know that the world's not ending," he said simply as the door opened. He smiled and nodded toward a hospital room on the left. She could see that it read "J. Gordon" on the paperwork beside the door frame. John knew that she would want to go in there alone, and that he would try to make her feel better once she came out of the room.

...

Eli could barely recognize what was happening as she walked with John to her Dad's room; her mind was racing and she was too distracted. All she knew was that she wouldn't have been able to make it to the hospital room without his help.

When she actually saw her Dad's name on the folder outside the room, Eli's heart skipped a beat. She had pictured this day since she was old enough to understand how dangerous her father's job was, and it was just as terrifying as she imagined it to be. John gave her a reassuring nod as he sat outside the door and left her to go in the room by herself.

Eli didn't know why she was so scared; John had assured her that the injury wasn't that serious, and that it would just take time to heal. She knew it was illogical to be so scared, but she couldn't help it.

As she walked into the room, Eli kept her eyes trained on the ground. She couldn't quite bring herself to look at her Dad yet. The only other time she had seen him broken was when Harvey tried to kill her brother, and this injury seemed to bring up those repressed memories. _Damn it Barbara, pull yourself together, _she chided herself. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm down her erratic heart. Feeling a bit better, she took a decisive step into the room and forced herself to look at her father.

"Dad-" she exclaimed once her eyes fell onto her Dad's broken body underneath the stark white hospital sheets. The heart monitor beeped steadily next to his bed, which she took as a good sign. The doctor hadn't met with her yet, but she planned on getting all the information after she saw how her Dad was in person.

She rushed to the chair on the side of his bed and grasped at his hand. He managed to slowly sit up and face his worried daughter.

"Don't get up. Just rest," she said frantically, worrying that he was hurting himself.

"I was shot, not dying," he muttered weakly. "Hand me some water?" His graying hair was messy and dark bags were full under his eyes. She had never seen his skin so pale and sweaty, and it pained her not to worry about him.

"I'm allowed to worry Dad . . . I almost lost you tonight," she gripped his hand as if he was going to fall away from her at any second.

"Doctors say . . I'll be . . fine." Gordon's speech was slow and fragmented. Eli knew that he was already exhausted, and she didn't want to strain him more.

"Try not to talk. I'm just glad you're safe," she murmured reassuringly. Eli could feel her fears drain out of her body as she saw her Dad. The images of him bleeding on the ground were quickly replaced by the fighting man in the hospital bed. If one thing about her father was true, it was the fact that he never gave up. And that gave Eli the confidence to know he would be okay.

She sat with her Dad for a few more minutes, holding onto his hand until he drifted off into drug induced sleep. Before she left, she affectionately wiped the sweat off his face and ran her fingers through his chaotically messy hair. In sleep, he looked peacefully and unhurt, and that's how she wanted to remember him until she saw him next.

...

As Eli walked out of the hospital room, John noticed how much stronger she seemed than before. Her shoulders weren't hunched over and her eyes seemed to be brighter. Tears weren't threatening to fall past her long lashes anymore, and she physically looked stronger. Eli wasn't that vulnerable girl he brought into the hospital, but rather a strong woman who looks like she was going to hunt down the people who shot her father. He smiled as he admired how his uniform look on her body, and stood up to see how she was doing.

"How's he doing?" he said as he caught up to her determined strides.

"He's a fighter, and I've never known him to give up. With time I'm sure he'll be fine." John nodded in agreement; Gordon had always been one of his heroes for that exact reason.

"-Miss. Gordon," a voice came from behind the two young people. John turned and recognized him to be one of Commissioner Gordon's doctors.

"Eli, this is Dr. Peterson. He's your Dad's main doctor. I'll let you two talk . . ." he said as he gestured toward the approaching man in the white lab coat. Eli nodded, thankful that she had John to help her in this tough time.

John watched as the two talked, and he started to wonder why he had stayed to help her. He could have left the hospital after he showed her to her father, but he had stayed. He had even waited right outside the door for her and given her his own coat. Seeing her in pain had hurt him in ways that he hadn't felt in a long time, and it surprised him. All he knew was that there was something about her that made him want to stick around and make sure she was alright.

...

"The doctor says he should be able to leave in a week or so. Because he's older and there was damage to his lungs from the water, they want to keep him under observation." Eli said as she relayed the conversation to John. "He just needs sleep, so there's really nothing else I can do besides visit." Eli wished there was something else she could do, but he wasn't like the computers she worked on. There wasn't some magic program to fix everything, and that's what made her so frustrated.

"Let me take you home again then. You look like you need some sleep."

"Oh, you've done too much for me John. You're the reason he's still alive, and I can't thank you enough. I don't want to burden you any more." Eli's eyes dropped to the floor, feeling unaccustomed to being helped so much. If anything, she had always relied on herself to get things that she wanted. It was weird to think that someone else wanted to make sure she was okay other than her father.

John stopped walking and turned to face Eli. He put both hands on her shoulders comfortably. "Ever think I actually enjoy your company?" He said smiling down on her. "Come on, I'm heading that way anyways."

"You're not some serial killer trying to lure me to your basement, are you?" She said jokingly. Something about being around him made her feel so much better. It felt like all of her problems had just magically disappeared.

"Well I guess you'll just have to wait and see," he countered, walking away toward his car. Eli quickly followed him, knowing that being alone would feel worse than anything else.

...

"My house is that way," Eli said pointing out the window of John's car. He had made a wrong turn and the car was heading back into the city.

A mischievous smirk crossed John's face as he kept driving. "Oh I know. We're taking a little detour."

Eli frowned and stared at his determined face. "I knew it. You _are_ a serial killer," she laughed. She was surprised by how comfortable she was around him, even though he was being secretive.

His smirk turned into a genuine smile as pulled the car into a slow stop and parallel parked on the side of the busy city road. "Close. Come on," he said as he hopped out of the car and quickly walked around the car to open the door for her.

"What's going on?" Eli looked around and recognized the street. It was a few blocks away from her house, yet still in the heart of the good part of Gotham. It was famous for small businesses, quaint restaurants, and dive bars.

"What, you don't trust me?" Eli paused for a moment in the car, wondering if she should actually go with John. He held his hand out to help her out of the car. She sighed, looked at his pleading face, and took his hand to step out of the car.

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**A/N: Sorry not a lot happened in this chapter, but get ready for some action next chapter! Can't wait to finish it! It should be up soon this week :) Please review!**


	4. Beer, Bars, and Pepper Spray

**A/N: Holy crap guys I can't believe so many of you are reading this story. You could say I'm floored/baffled/confounded/perplexed/mystified/flummoxed (in a good way of course). I just want to thank you all so much, you really have no idea how happy your reviews make me! So without further ado, here's the next chapter as promised!**

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"What are we doing in a _bar_?" Eli said in disbelief. She hadn't really known what to expect, but it certainly wasn't this.

"Come on, they have the best fries in the city. Perfect comfort food," he said, laughing as he practically dragged her into a booth.

"Well I guess since we're already here . . ." she mused. "But don't get used to this, _Robin," _she said with annoyance. Since they got out of his police cruiser, she was finally able to think more clearly. It had seemed the hospital was so oppressive that she had forgotten almost everything about her situation.

"Well, _Barbara_, we'll just have to see about that!" She smiled, not able to stay even remotely mad at him. Eli looked around the bar that he insisted they go to, and she realized how comfortable it seemed. What she loved about places in this part of town was the community feeling. The walls were covered with old photos of Gotham, and the chairs were worn. Guitars were bolted to the wall, and smooth music filled the air. People were laughing and the atmosphere seemed almost home-y.

A waiter quickly came to take their order, but before she could say anything, John had ordered for her. "We'll have two beers and share an order of fries." The waiter nodded as John thanked him.

"I am capable of ordering for myself you know. And how did you know I'm a beer person?" Eli said as she rolled her eyes.

"You don't seem like the kind of person to like girly drinks," he laughed honestly. She shrugged and couldn't deny what he said since it was true.

Suddenly, she realized that she was still clinging onto John's jacket. She quickly shrugged it off and handed it to him over the table. "Thanks John. You really know how to take care of people, don't ya'?"

"Nope," he smiled grabbing the jacket and brushing her hand with his, "just you."

Eli laughed comfortably and rolled her eyes again at his forwardness. "Oh shut it. I'm sure that's what you say to all the girls."

Before John could deny what she said, the waiter brought over their order and set it right in the middle of the young pair. Eli's stomach suddenly growled as she realized that she was extremely hungry.

"These fries are life-changing, try some," John said after shoving a couple in his mouth unceremoniously. He pushed the plate over to her side of the table, watching her intently as she grabbed two and took a bite.

"Oh my god . . . these are amazing," Eli said before instantly eating what was left in her hand as John followed suit.

"Told ya'! I've found it's the best cure for a stressful day." Eli nodded in agreement as they both grabbed a few more fries.

For the next hour, they talked about anything to keep Eli's mind off of her Dad. She was genuinely interested in what he did in college and how he decided to become a police officer. The same went for John, he liked to learn about her life and what she did. By the end of the night, the two knew a lot more about each other than they did hours earlier. Sure the small amounts of alcohol had loosened their tongues, but neither said anything they regretted. Both Eli and John were comfortable sharing personal information with the other.

"Shit," Eli mused as they walked out of the bar together. "I left my car at the hospital. I completely forgot. And I didn't lock it. And I parked in a handicapped spot. And-" John put his arm around her shoulders and quieted her rambling.

"If you get a ticket, just bring it to me. Don't worry about it. I'll drive you to visit your Dad tomorrow, and then you can pick it up . . . You know you're funny when you ramble," he chuckled. Eli loved the sound of laughing. She could feel his chest vibrate against her body gently, and it made her smile.

"You're right. Jeez, I feel bad. I'm going to owe you for, like, the next year if I don't start driving you places." She looked up at John as he kept his arm around her. He rolled his eyes and she hit him gently in the chest. "I'm serious, I don't like owing people. Or being waited on!"

"I already told you that I like helping you. So technically _you_ don't owe me anything," he smiled and hugged her closer to him. "Come on, I'll walk you home. It's illegal to drive under the influence you know. And I am a cop." Eli smiled, feeling happier than she has felt in a very long time. It felt like years since the last time she was so open with someone, and it was almost a relief. Like a thousand pounds of stress that had been building for years was finally off of her shoulders, and she could finally be happy. Eli didn't like rushing into things normally, and she didn't quite know if she would have let John hold her so close if she hadn't had those beers. But at the moment it felt right, and she didn't want to ruin it.

...

"Her car's here, but she's not in the hospital. We've looked everywhere," Barsad, Bane's second-in-command, muttered into the phone.

Silence came from the other line. Barsad inspected the car more as he kept the phone pressed to his ear. The doors had been open, so she should have come back to it soon. He was told that Barbara Gordon wasn't the kind of woman to leave her car unprotected. Moments later, Bane's unmistakably menacing voice filled the silence. "Do what you have to do. Be successful, for we cannot fail."

...

The next morning, Eli hummed happily as she got ready. Everything seemed to be going her way, and she looked forward to seeing her Dad and John. She took her time as she ate and put on her clothes, wanting to monopolize her good mood. And since it was the weekend, she didn't have to even worry about going into work.

Her phone rang soon after she was completely ready to face the day. The caller ID made her smile when she realized that it was John and so she quickly answered it.

"Hey Eli, when do you want me to pick you up?" he said cheerily.

"I was hoping around lunch time. I want to bring my Dad some food other than that hospital junk," she answered as she rummaged through her refrigerator to see what she could pull together before adding, "If that's okay with you, of course."

"No that's perfect. I'll be over in an hour." With that, he hung up and Eli went back to going through her kitchen to pull together some sort of lunch for her Dad. That took up most of her time, waiting for John to come pick her up.

As if like clockwork, the familiar police cruiser pulled into her driveway and Eli threw together everything she needed for the day into her leather satchel. She remembered to grab her keys since she had to pick up her car. Eli hoped that nothing happened to it, chiding herself for forgetting about it.

"Long time no see," John yelled out the window as she locked the front door to her house. After forgetting about her car, it made her extra cautious for the time being.

"Funny," she said dryly as she slid into the passenger seat and handed him a brown paper bag.

"What's this?" He said, inspecting the bag.

"Well I made lunch for my Dad, so I figured I'd make you something too. It's partly a thanks for yesterday," his face lit up, like she had just handed him a hundred dollars. "Don't be too happy until you try it. I can't guarantee it's that good," she said modestly.

"It's food. And I _love_ food," he chuckles as he set the bag down and drove off toward the hospital. "And it's perfect because I have a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time to do it."

Eli frowned as she looked at his concentrating face. "If you have a lot of work to do, why are you driving me? I could have walked!" She immediately felt bad, chiding herself for allowing herself to be waited on again. After today, she was going to make sure she went back to her independent self. No more letting John take time out of his day to help her out.

"Oh no, no, no," he said quickly. He didn't like it when Eli was stressed, so he explained himself. "I was heading that way anyways. I have to talk to Bruce Wayne about a problem with an orphanage he used to fund, and the hospital is on the way."

"Okay good," Eli said in relief, though she still felt guilty about mooching a ride off him. She was definitely done relying on other people to do things.

...

"How're you doing Dad?" Eli said once she realized her dad was awake. When she first got to the hospital, he had been passed out because of all the drugs they had injected him with. She took that time to ask the doctors how he was doing, but nothing had changed since yesterday. Eli killed the rest of her time by moving her car, luckily there was no ticket. Though John said he would take care of it if she did get one, she didn't want another reason to feel less independent.

"Batman visited me last night," he mumbled under his oxygen mask. Eli gently took the seat next to him and set up his lunch on the table over his bed. When she registered what he said, she froze.

Eli looked at her Dad incredulously. "_What_?", she whispered in disbelief. At first Eli thought she had heard wrong and that he was hallucinating or something, but he seemed adamant. He slowly paraphrased their conversation, and Eli held onto his every word. Batman had been her idol, she practically worshipped him when she was younger. _Hell, I still do_, she mused to herself.

"Is this about Bane?" she asked, putting two and two together. John had filled her in on what happened with her Dad, so she knew everything. Even the part about the masked mercenary in the sewers. It was almost too ridiculous to believe, but she was sure her father was telling the truth.

"Yes . . . I told him that he needed to come back. That Gotham needs him again." Gordon struggled with the words: partly because of the oxygen mask and partly because of the personal guilt he felt for Batman's disappearance. Eli hoped that if Batman decided her Dad was right, he was up for the challenge. Eight years was a long time to be missing.

After another hour of talking, the nurses started to rush in to change his wound dressings. Eli decided this was the best time to leave, seeing as he needed to rest. As she left, she tried to picture this Bane person that he had described to her. She asked for his personal account of what happened, partly out of curiosity but mostly out of concern. Her Dad wasn't getting any younger, and this kind of stress wasn't healthy for his heart. The monster that he portrayed sent shivers down her back, and Eli hoped that she would never have to meet him face-to-face.

...

It was mid afternoon by the time she started to leave the hospital, and the sun was still up. The crisp, fall air blew her red hair wildly around her face as she stepped out of the doors and walked to her car. She hugged her coat closer to her body, hoping that it would block the harsh wind.

She walked around to the back of the hospital briskly, hoping to get out of the colder weather quickly. _It's definitely going to be a harsh winter,_ she thought to herself absentmindedly as she dug through her bag for her keys.

Suddenly, the loud sound of approaching footsteps gave her a twisting feeling in her stomach. _It's nothing,_ she said to convince herself. _You're just being paranoid_, she said again.

Though, Eli was raised in Gotham and she knew it was better to be prepared than be a victim. She had her keys in her hand, but still rifled through her purse looking for her pepper spray. Eli had carried this particular can since she graduated college and never had to use it, and she hoped to keep it that way. Her fingers gripped the cold canister and gently held it to her body just in case.

The approaching foot steps sounded closer, and Eli started to walk faster. There weren't any other people in the alley-way leading to the hospital parking lot, and the desolation seemed to make Eli even more anxious. _Calm down, you're being stupid_, she tried to convince herself but even her thoughts were shaky. Her own subconscious was betraying her.

"Barbara Gordon?" a male voice enunciated from behind her. She paused, clutching at the pepper spray in her hand, and turned around slowly. Her eyes fell on a rather tall man with dirty cargo pants, a matching dark shirt, a utility vest, and a red undershirt bunched around his neck.

Eli hesitated, wondering whether or not she should even engage the man. She didn't recognize him from anywhere, so that didn't help. Eli kicked herself for stopping, she should have just kept walking and pretended that she hadn't heard him. But it was too late for that, they had made eye contact.

". . . Yes?" Eli kept the pepper spray hidden in her hand as the man took a step toward her. Her heart was beating so fast that she thought it was going to burst out of her chest.

"You have to come with me," he said stiffly. Eli noticed that his movements were very austere and almost militaristic. She was sure he probably served in the army overseas because of his slightly foreign accent.

Eli decided to act as naive as possible, hoping to be able to run to her car when the time came. "Sorry, I'm, uh, r-running late. I have to go," she stuttered while turning on her heels quickly, acting on pure instinct.

As she turned away from the approaching man she halted, frozen in place. While she was engaging the other man, another man had snuck up behind her. When she turned, he was only a foot away from her. Again, she acted on instinct and ripped out the pepper spray from her pocket, aimed it right at his face, and hastily pressed the button on top. Clear liquid erupted from the nozzle and met it's mark. The man bellowed in agony as he clawed at his burning eyes.

Eli took no time to see what else was happening, and her fight-or-flight drives kicked in as she ran toward her car. The parking lot was in sight, but it was still too far away. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the man she had sprayed doubled over in pain, but the man she saw originally was no where to be seen. Suddenly, she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her torso, pinning her arms to her side. Eli struggled, trying to remember the self defense that her Dad taught her, but for the first time in her life, her mind went blank. It was the man who had recognized her earlier. Somehow he had doubled around and cut her off from the parking lot.

"You're not going to cause _more_ trouble now, Miss. Gordon. Correct?" Eli wasn't listening though, she was trying to worm her arm free from his grasp and use the defensive spray once again. "I'll be taking that," the man grunted, prying the canister from her locked fingers.

"What do you want?" she yelled, maybe hoping to get the attention of anyone around the corner. But she didn't have any luck; everyone seemed to be inside trying to escape the cold weather.

"In time you'll know. But for now, I'm going to need you to _be quiet_," the man said surprisingly calmly. Eli looked up at his determined face, trying to figure out what he meant, but what she saw made her panic even more. In his hand was a needle filled with a clear substance. Once she saw it, he promptly jammed it into the side of her neck. Eli hissed in pain as she felt the needle slide through her exposed flesh and into her jugular vein. The pain disappeared almost immediately as the clear liquid drained into her blood stream. The effects were instantaneous: her vision began to blur, her heart rate calmed, and she began to see stars. Within a few seconds, the stars turned into black spots and the spots expanded until she couldn't see anything. The last thing Eli could remember was an intense feeling of vertigo as her muscles relaxed and she collapsed onto the cold ground.

* * *

**A/N: Ohhh cliff hanger! Sort of... Haha you all knew it was coming! Get ready for some major action in these next chapters! I can't wait to write them! How do you guys think the plot's progressing so far? I hope it's not too dull, I promise it gets more action-y soon! Please review :)**


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